There Will Never Be Another Like Messi: Luis Enrique

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FC Barcelona striker Lionel Messi has set a new goal scoring record in La Liga thanks to his brilliant hat-trick at Camp Nou against Sevilla on Saturday and coach Luis Enrique was full of a praise for the little master.

Messi equaled the record of Telmo Zarra in the first half of the game when he scored through a brilliantly taken hat-trick in the first half and added two more in the second half to set a new record of 252 La Liga strikes.

Telmo Zarra’s 251 goals came in 277 games for Athletic Bilbao, while Messi’s 253 have arrived in 289 matches for FC Barcelona. Lionel Messi is already FC Barcelona’s all-time highest goal scorer and now has 368 strikes in all competitions for the club.

And speaking after the game in a press conference, FC Barcelona coach Luis Enrique was bombarded with questions related to Leo Messi’s achievements. Luis Enrique said: “There are so many Messi goals that I’ve loved. I’ve been saying for years now that there is no other player like him. There is no-one who can touch him. We need to enjoy him playing at the moment. I never imagined that anyone would beat the Zarra record and look.”

Big controversy was caused earlier this week when Leo Messi hinted at his possible departure from FC Barcelona. But coach Luis Enrique refused to talk about the future of the player. “I want to live in the present and with Leo Messi at the club, it’s marvelous. For me. he’s the best player of all time. I stand by his declarations about working hard and winning titles”.

FC Barcelona’s defence look solid against Sevilla and Luis Enrique said that he is happy with the all round performance of his players. “In the same way as always. The players have a responsibility in defense, not just in attack. Sevilla were always going to make things difficult for us but we were excellent. The ended up creating little to trouble us. This win is a result of playing well with intensity”.

“It was a half-chance for Sevilla. It’s something we need to bear in mind but these are challenges for us. It was key for us to score the next time we attacked. It gave us that tranquility to play at our own pace”.

Luis Enrique also said that he expects FC Barcelona players to play like they did against Sevilla. “It was a complete game in every way and in all areas of the pitch. We created plenty of chances and left our rival with little option, the created very little danger. For me the whole game was great. This is the way forward”.